LUCILE, Idaho – Officials in Idaho County say a 35-year-old Coeur d’Alene man is missing after a rafting accident in the Salmon River.

The sheriff’s office said Andrew Joseph “A.J.” Gray was rafting at about 2 p.m. Sunday near Lucile when the raft flipped, spilling several people into the river. Gray was not wearing a life vest and could not be located.

Sheriff Doug Giddings said the Riggins Dive Team and the sheriff’s office continued searching for Gray on Monday.

Canada lynx plan expected in 2018

BILLINGS – U.S. wildlife officials revealed Monday that they expect to complete a recovery plan for imperiled Canada lynx in early 2018 – almost two decades after the snow-loving wildcats first received federal protections.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service laid out that timetable in court documents filed as part of a federal lawsuit in Montana brought by environmentalists unhappy with prior delays.

Lynx were designated a federally protected threatened species in 2000. Since then, federal officials have repeatedly missed their own deadlines to start work on a plan to help the animals.

Lynx are rarely seen across a 14-state range that includes portions of the Rocky Mountains, the Cascade Range of Washington and Oregon. There is no reliable population estimate.